


the lothcat story

by litra



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Blanket Permission, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Pining, Post-Canon, Prompt Fic, lothcats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-02-22 23:15:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23901955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/litra/pseuds/litra
Summary: based on the prompt: "Did you adopt a lothcat?" "It adopted me."Kallus has a disagreement with a lothcat while Zeb is away.
Relationships: Alexsandr Kallus/Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios
Comments: 4
Kudos: 110





	the lothcat story

Kallus looked up at the Lothal sunset, holding back the sigh that wanted to escape. The Ghost had only been gone for three days, but he was already missing Zeb. He'd gotten used to the other man in his bed, the feel of his fir as they casually interacted throughout the day. It wasn't even that he was worried. Ever since Thrawn and Ezra had vanished things had been - if not truly quiet, than at least manageable. The battles the rebellion was fighting these days had migrated into the mid-rim leaving Lothal in peace.

The wind picked up, stirring the endless grass. The areas destroyed by the empires mines and their relentless planet strippers was healing, slowly. Some places still looked like a war zone but others, like around the capital and the old com-spire were as they had been for years.

Kallus let out a breath as the last of the color faded from the sunset. He turned, heading back inside. The space was very different from when he'd used it as Fulcrum, and miles from what it had been like when Ezra had lived there. There was still a row of trooper helmets in a neat row on a high shelf, but otherwise the com-tower had been returned to it's original function. An older R4 unit turned it's head and whistled at him. The droid would stay and monitor through the night, but Kallus's shift was officially over.

One more day done. one more day without his lover. One more day until Zeb returned. 

He flipped one last switch, logged out of the system, and headed for the lift. His speeder was parked by the base of the tower, exactly where he'd left it, with one small addition. A lothcat had crept up onto the back of the speeder and was curled up asleep with it's tail over it's nose. Kallus let out a small smile. The cats always reminded him of Ezra. Not that he'd had a close relationship with the boy, but Ezra had the kind of spirit that drew people in. Made them want to help him. Kallus had never asked if it was a jedi trait or something purely him. 

Kallus slapped the seat of the speeder. Some of these strays could be mean if you got too close. The lothcat flicked it's tail. The creature was mostly brown with the standard darker markings, but it had a white patch over it's face. It was clearly awake, but it didn't seem to care that he was there or that he was trying to get it to move. it blinked slowly in the manner of all felines across the galaxy.

Kallus waited another minute then shrugged. The cat would get the message in a minute. He swung onto the speeder. Looking over his shoulder the lothcat still hadn't shifted, though it had raised it's head off it's claws. It's eyes were narrowed, it's ears attentive. 

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Kallus said, and started up the speeder. The engine hummed to life lifting off the ground. Kallus could see the lothcat's claws dig into the sinth-leather covering the seat. It's ears were flat to it's head and it had puffed out it's fir, stuck somewhere between furious and frightened. 

"See? Time to hop down," Kallus tried, but the cat didn't move. It's liquid black eyes were fixed on him.

"I'm leaving," Kallus tried, then he tipped back his head, "And I'm talking to a lothcat." He turned back around, slid his helmet into place and switched the speeder out of idling. The lothcat would jump off once they started moving. 

A few seconds later he was proven wrong. They'd barely gone ten feet before the lothcat screeched and something attached itself to his lower back. Even through the thick canvas of his jacket he could feel the claws. pain spiked through him. His foot went down on the accelerator and suddenly he was racing over the grassland. 

It was lucky there there was no traffic out that far, and that he was a good enough pilot that he could get the vehicle straightened out before he crashed. He sped along for a klik or so, doing a self inventory. The ball of pain and fur had managed to wiggle under his jacket, tucked against his spine. The heat of it bled through his shirt. It might have been the speeder, but he thought the creature might have been shaking. 

Kallus pulled to the side of the path, slowing until he was barely moving at walking speed. The lothcat was definitely shaking. He tried to reach back, and pull up his jacket, surely the creature only needed a second chance to jump down... 

This time Kallus managed not to hit the accelerator when the claws sank in. 

"Blasted karabast," he hissed through his teeth. 

He pulled the speeder to a full stop, setting it down but not turning off the engine. For all he knew the cat would take that as it's cue to go back to sleep. The lothcat didn't move, but it did mercifully retract it's claws. 

"Alright that's enough," Kallus shifted, trying to stand up in his seat. If he was going to get clawed anyway, he might as well get the cat off while he was at it. 

The cat protested, when he pulled away. This time at least he was too fast for it to get a grip on him. He twisted around trying to get another look at the thing, but it was gone.

Well... good... He scanned the surrounding grass. He didn't see it, but he didn't really expect to. Kallus nodded settling back into his seat. He looked down to switch the speeder back up and a surprised grunt escaped his throat. The Lothcat hadn't escaped into the grass. it was tucked into the hollow under the steering column about an inch from his crotch. It must have slipped between his legs when he stood. Worse, the hollow it had found was tight enough that getting the creature out would be a nightmare, not least because those claws were now an inch and a half from parts of himself he was quite fond of. 

Kallus looked down at the creature for a minute straight. A chill wind swept over the grass. The Lothol planes didn't get as cold at night as some desert planets but a shiver still crept down his spine. He tugged his jacket a little tighter and considered the lothcat between his legs. Well, it isn't as if anyone is waiting for him to get home.

He sets the speeder down again, turns it all the way off, and eases back from the skittish animal. Night had fallen as quickly as it always did, and Kallus had to squint to make out the shape of the lothcat in the dark. It watches him, eyes reflecting the light of the smallest moon. Now that the speeder has settled down it seems content again. It's tucked it's paws under itself and its tail is back to a regular amount of puffyness. Unfortunately it didn't seem inclined to move. 

Kallus crossed his arms. He could probably walk the speeder back to the tower. There was a cot there that he had slept on a few times when shifts ran long. The cot wasn't much worse than the bunk he'd had when assigned to various ships in the imperial fleet. Everyone agreed that the ISB was necessary, but no one liked giving them any comforts. But that cot might as well have been a rock next to the bed he shared with Zeb. With the way was feeling, the lingering scent left on Zeb's pillow was the single bright spot during the next few days. 

They used to keep a spare speeder out here, when they needed a round the clock watch. More recently it had been commandeered to transport something to somewhere. He couldn't remember if it had been returned and if so, if it had been hauled out here. He certainly hadn't done it. With his current luck it wouldn't be there. 

The wind picked up again. Kallus wrapped his arms around himself as the lothcat fluffed out its fir and snuggled a little deeper into it's spot. 

He was not going to be bested by a cat. 

Kallus squinted at the lights of the city, then planted his feet and stripped off his jacket. Holding the jacket in front of him, he advanced on the animal. The lothcat hissed at him, flattening it's ears.

Kallus had never had much interaction with animals. In that moment it showed. If he was honest he was glad no one was there to see him. By the time he had the cat bundled up in his jacket, pinned against his chest, he'd acquired several new scratches. some of his wounds might even need bacta when he got home. 

Kallus carefully levered himself down to the ground, ready for the lothcat to make a break for it as soon as he opened his jacket. The wounded little mew was enough of a shock that Kallus stopped half-crouched. Was the creature injured? He hadn't seen anything but the light was anything but good at this point. It was even possible he'd injured the creature himself. 

A wave of guilt sank into him. "This was what the great agent Kallus had been reduced to" a part of his mind sneered. He forcefully shoved that part down. He wasn't that person anymore. 

Allus patted at the animal as gently as he could through the jacket. It didn't repeat the sound but it did tense up and he could tell it was trying to dig in it's claws again. He tried opening the bundle but the lothcat only shrank back and tangled deeper into the jacket.

Kallus looked up at the city again. He could probably ride home one handed. Once he was back home he could get a better look at the creature, possibly find a vet if it needed one. He wasn't going to keep the viscous beast, but he'd do his due.

Careful of his bundle, Kallus swung one leg over the speeder. The cat barely shifted. It curled tighter against his chest and went for the claws again when he started the speeder, but after a minute it seemed to calm down. When easing forward didn't provoke another attack, Kallus steered towards the main road. 

He took it slow, and was grateful that the roads were mostly clear at this hour. The wind had him shivering by the time he parked the speeder and headed for his door. The warmth of the cat was a comfort against his chest. 

Shutting his door behind him, Kallus waved on the lights and looked around. There was no one else there of course, but the signs that Zeb lived there were quietly apparently His favorite mug in the dish rack, purple fir lingering in the corners of his favorite chair where the cleaning droid didn't catch it, the holos of the Ghost crew and Sabine's art hung on the wall. Nothing that would help with a wounded feral lothcat, but at least it was a more comfortable setting. 

Kallus managed to grab a towel from the fresher one handed and did his best to spread it out over one half of the couch. He lowered himself onto the other half, then slumped until the bundle of jacket and cat was supported by more that just his arm. The cat didn't want to let go, but now that he was home Kallus was more than willing to wait it out. 

He twisted into a more comfortable position and yawned. As soon as the cat let go he'd get up and put some bacta on his scratches and properly go to bed. For the moment he was home, and the couch smelled like Zeb. It was easy to just close his eyes and drift. 

"Hey there..."

Kallus grumbled and pressed up into the warm familiar hand. He mocked Zeb for loving to be petted, but he liked touch just as much. 

A quiet chuckle answered his movement. "You still sleeping?"

Kallus didn't bother opening his eyes, "you giving me a reason to wake up?"

That got a real laugh, "I don't know, looks like I've been replaced."

Kallus' sleep fogged brain couldn't quite make sense of that. He wedged his eyes open, looking up at his lover kneeling in front of the couch. The light in the apartment had shifted to early morning, it gilded the edges of his fir giving him a halo. Kallus started to lean forward seeking more touch, then the creature tucked against him shifted, protesting. 

The previous night came back, and Kallus looked down at the lothcat. At some point in the night his jacket had fallen open. The jacket, along with his arm, had been commandeered as bedding. The lothcat was curled up in the nest, eyes closed, but ears up. When Kallus settled back down it started purring.

"Did you really adopt a lothcat?" Zeb asked.

"Well, it adopted me. It think I might have more battle wounds from this cat than I do from you."

Zeb settled back on his heels and grinned. "Really? This I've got to see. If it's true he'll fit right in."

Kallus rolled his eyes and started extricating his arm from the nest. 

"I thought you weren't going to be back for another few days?"

Zeb shrugged, "Finished up early... and I missed you."

Kallus sat up properly and reached for Zeb. "I missed you too."


End file.
